purloin \per-LOYN\ verb : to appropriate wrongfully and often by a breach of trust
Example sentence: Carol discovered that Mike had purloined her idea for her essay and used it in his own paper.
Did you know? "Purloin," "pilfer," and "filch" may just seem like fancy words for "steal," but each has a slightly different connotation. "Pilfer" implies stealing repeatedly in small amounts, as in this sentence: "It was months before her boss realized she was pilfering office supplies." "Filch" adds a suggestion of snatching quickly and surreptitiously (e.g., "He filched an apple from the tray"). "Purloin" stresses removing or carrying off something for one's own use or purposes ("She purloined the manuscript and tried to pass it off as her own work").
3 comments:
is there a difference between to purloin and to plagiarise?
Mr. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a wonderful story entitled The Purloined Letter in which a stolen (pilfered property capable of being touched) letter must be found. Even though no ownership is claimed, a duplicate is made. The duplicate could be considered plagiarized if the copier had claimed authorship.
Plagiarizing has always been considered literary stealing.
Does that make sense?
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